In designing data networking systems, the networking semiconductor devices often implement a standard set of interfaces in order to establish and simplify the connections between them. The Open System Interconnect (OSI) Reference Model is often the basis for the standard set of interfaces. More detailed standard interfaces are defined in various standards, such as the IEEE 802.2 and IEEE 802.3 set of Standard Service Specifications, including the IEEE 802.3u Standard, all disclosures of which IEEE network standards are incorporated herein by reference.
Computer devices and networking devices must be interconnected to make a computer system. For example, in a network device such as a switching hub, it is necessary to connect input/output semiconductor devices to a switching core. Also, it is often necessary to connect the input/output semiconductor devices to a system bus for transmission of management information between the input/output semiconductor device, networking semiconductor devices, and other components of the computer system.
Switching core semiconductor devices are often designed with their output stage having a Medium Access Control (MAC) device having a Medium Independent Interface (MII interface). The MAC device and the MII interface are specified in the IEEE 802.3 set of standards.
Additionally, a computer may use any of several well known standard computer system buses, such as the ISA bus, the EISA bus (Extended ISA bus), the PCI bus (Peripheral Component Interconnect bus), the Futurebus, the Futurebus+, the SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface bus), etc. Direct connection to the buses is made by bus driver hardware. Bus driver hardware must then be designed to interface to the other specialized components of the computer system. Often, system bus driver hardware is designed so that a first side of the driver hardware connects to the system bus, while the driver hardware is addressed through a MII interface to a MAC device on the computer system side of the driver hardware.
However, to connect between a semiconductor device such as a switching core which employs a MAC device in its input/output stage and another semiconductor device which also has a MAC device as its input/output stage, it is necessary to design special purpose semiconductor devices in order to connect the two MAC devices. These special purpose semiconductor devices are sometimes referred to as "glue logic".
There is needed a simple, inexpensive means for interconnecting a variety of standard semiconductor devices in the construction of computer and networking systems.